Last Modified: Friday, March 8, 2013 at 11:14 p.m.

The track got steady rain all morning Friday and again in the early afternoon after a brief break, forcing NASCAR to scrap practice and qualifying in Las Vegas for the first time. The speedway urged fans to take cover from rain, high wind and lightning when the afternoon storm broke over the desert north of the Strip.

“I was just thinking when I walked in, with this being Vegas and all, what the odds would be of a rainout in Vegas,” Keselowski said. “I bet that was pretty high.”

Sunday's field was set by points and the NASCAR rule book, giving the pole to last season's Sprint Cup series champion. The top 36 spots are set by owners' points from last year, with the rest filled out by points or qualifying attempts.

“That's a really good deal,” said Keselowski, the first-time champ. “It's one of the perks, I guess, of being the champion in the first few races. This is the first time I've had a decent starting position in a rainout.”

Mike Bliss will miss the race because of the cancellation of qualifying. Keselowski will be on the front row alongside Clint Bowyer, last season's second-place finisher. Daytona 500 champion Jimmie Johnson and teammate Kasey Kahne will be in the second row.

Although the rain also forced the cancellation of Friday's practice, no drivers seemed particularly concerned after going through Thursday's open test of the new Gen-6 car.

“We had more than enough practice this weekend,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “So I'm not too worried about what we didn't get to do today, because yesterday was way more than we needed, to be honest.”

SPRINT CUP LINEUP

Associated Press

After Friday qualifying; race Sunday

At Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Las Vegas, Nev.

Lap length: 1.5 miles

(Car number in parentheses)

1. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, Owner Points.

2. (15) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, Owner Points.

3. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

4. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

5. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, Owner Points.

6. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Owner Points.

7. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, Owner Points.

8. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

9. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

10. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

11. (56) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, Owner Points.

12. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, Owner Points.

13. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, Owner Points.

14. (39) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

15. (55) Mark Martin, Toyota, Owner Points.

16. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, Owner Points.

17. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

18. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, Owner Points.

19. (9) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, Owner Points.

20. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

21. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, Owner Points.

22. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, Owner Points.

23. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

24. (78) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

25. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

26. (47) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, Owner Points.

27. (51) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

28. (93) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, Owner Points.

29. (34) David Ragan, Ford, Owner Points.

30. (13) Casey Mears, Ford, Owner Points.

31. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, Owner Points.

32. (83) David Reutimann, Toyota, Owner Points.

33. (7) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

34. (32) Ken Schrader, Ford, Owner Points.

35. (36) J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

36. (21) Trevor Bayne, Ford, Owner Points.

37. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

38. (30) David Stremme, Toyota, Owner Points.

39. (98) Michael McDowell, Ford, Owner Points.

40. (95) Scott Speed, Ford, Attempts.

41. (33) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, Attempts.

42. (87) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, Attempts.

43. (35) Josh Wise, Ford, Attempts.

Failed to Qualify

44. (19) Mike Bliss, Toyota.

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